The media quoted Indonesian officials as calling the visit crucial to the Indonesian-Vietnamese strategic partnership, creating a political momentum for all-round cooperation between the two countries, especially in terms of economics, trade, investment, maritime cooperation, fisheries, and the negotiations on the demarcation of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) between the two countries.

Antara News and Jakarta Post, in their articles, said in his meeting with Vietnamese counterpart Tran Dai Quang in Hanoi, Widodo suggested the Vietnamese Government remove trade barriers for Indonesia.

He was also reported to have expressed his wish that Indonesian investors will expand their business in Vietnam, adding that the two countries signed Joint Communiqué on Voluntary International Cooperation to Combat Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing and to Promote Sustainable Fisheries Governance.

Vietnamese and Indonesian leaders also agreed to intensify negotiations on an EEZ, the media highlighted

Other newspapers of Indonesia have also ran articles reporting on agreements and memoranda of understanding (MoUs) reached between Vietnam and Indonesia during Widodo’s visit, including those on tourism cooperation, fisheries, and health care.

The two sides signed the Plan of Action for the Implementation of Strategic Partnership between the two countries in the period of 2019-2023, and a number of other important agreements, including those on cooperation in promoting creative economic development and bilateral trade cooperation, which aim to lift two-way trade between Vietnam and Indonesia to US$10 billion in 2020.

An agreement on removing trade barriers was also inked, making it easy for both sides’ goods to make inroads into each other market, the articles said.

The Indonesian media quoted some statements by President Widodo and Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi.

President Widodo appreciated the fruitful cooperation between Vietnam and Indonesia, and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s decision to attend the ASEAN Leaders' Gathering (ALG) in Bali, Indonesia in October.

The Indonesian leader affirmed the ALG was important in the current fluctuations of the world economy, noting that this offers a chance for ASEAN to show its determination to foster self-reliance economic development and its commitment to promote development cooperation and poverty reduction.

It will be also an opportunities for ASEAN member nations to declare to the world their achievements in recent times.

Talking to the press on the visit, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi emphasised that Indonesia is promoting equilibrium trade relations with Vietnam.

He highly valued the signing of the MoU on fishery cooperation, including illegal fishing preventions; as well as the determination of both sides’ leaders to accelerate negotiations on the demarcation of the EEZ.